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iOS 15.4 reveals new ‘Trade-In Tool’ for scanning cosmetic details with your iPhone camera

Apple today released the first beta of iOS 15.4 to developers, which comes with multiple new features like Universal Control, secure notes on iCloud Keychain, Face ID when using masks, and more. Interestingly, Apple has also been working on a new “Trade-In Tool” for scanning cosmetic details from another device using the iPhone camera.

The new Trade-In Tool was found by 9to5Mac in the internal files of iOS 15.4 beta 1. As suggested by the system strings, the tool will help users get through Apple’s trade-in process, which gives credit for your next purchase at the Apple Store when you send your old device to Apple.

The tool will use the camera to detect cosmetic details of another device, which probably includes things like scratches, dents, or broken glass. Once the scan is complete, the tool will send the cosmetic details to Apple.

Apple considers all these details to determine how much it will pay for the customer’s old device, since an iPhone with a scratched or broken screen is worth less – or even ineligible for trade-in – than an iPhone in good condition. The new tool should make the whole trade-in process more precise and faster.

Another thing to keep in mind is that as Apple prepares to introduce its own self repair program, the same technology built into the new Trade-In Tool could be used in the future to detect genuine Apple parts through the camera.

Since the Trade-In Tool is still under development, there’s no way to test it for yourself even if you’re running iOS 15.4 beta on your iPhone or iPad.

iOS 15.4 beta is now available for developers, while the official release is expected this spring.

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Avatar for Filipe Espósito Filipe Espósito

Filipe Espósito is a Brazilian tech Journalist who started covering Apple news on iHelp BR with some exclusive scoops — including the reveal of the new Apple Watch Series 5 models in titanium and ceramic. He joined 9to5Mac to share even more tech news around the world.

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